With TrainGenius.com you can buy cheap train tickets for all UK National Rail destinations and save up to 80% (sometimes more!) by buying in advance through us.

TrainGenius.com is completely impartial and independent of the train operating companies, so you can be sure that we’ll live up to our mission to help you find the train tickets that best suit you – whether that means saving money, travel flexibility or a mixture of the two.

We’ve been selling train tickets online since 2008, so we’re experts at what we do. We help all our customers to find the best value train tickets, to find out when it’s cheapest to travel and to find out handy tips that make train travel easier.

We’re also accredited and licensed by the train operators. We’re not a reseller for another organisation – we do everything from helping you find the right tickets to delivery / ticket collection and after sales support. In fact, our systems are used by some of the train operators themselves to sell their train tickets online.

Booking now for rail travel over Christmas could save you up to 92% on your fare

You might think it is too early to start thinking about Christmas shopping – but don’t let that stop you buying train tickets for the festive period. If you’re heading home or visiting relatives you need to act now to get the cheapest deals. Train operators have released their cheapest “Advance” price tickets, which thetrainline.com says can be almost £150, or 92%, cheaper on some routes compared to walk-up fares on the day.

Advance train tickets are much cheaper and the best deals are available to those who are able to book their journeys well in advance. With the train companies releasing cheaper tickets on to the market up to 12 weeks ahead. But it is possible to buy these cheaper tickets at much shorter notice.

Top Tip: You can often buy advance tickets the night before so it's always worth checking if advance purchase tickets are still available and certainly before you get to the station.

Challenge

Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis showed how cheaper tickets could be booked at the last minute in an episode of his It Pays To Watch TV programmes. Lewis was challenged to save a businessman who travelled to work by train most days as much money as possible.

He usually only found out his destination the day before, so booked at the station each morning.

At 5pm, Martin Lewis asked him to call for a London-Sheffield train for the next morning. He'd have paid £147 on the day, but the night before, £64 advance tickets were still around. That was an impressive saving.

Check

Generally advance tickets are only available up to 6pm the day before, but a few train companies sell them even later so you can still check on the day of travel. But the sooner you book the better the chance of a cheaper ticket.

Top 5 train ticket booking websites for cheap train tickets and last minute train tickets...Book your tickets online now and collect them at the station.

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This is one of the newer booking sites and sells cheap train tickets for all UK train companies, including East Coast trains between London and Edinburgh and First Great Western services from London Paddington. TrainGenius.com estimates you could save up to 80 per cent instead of buying your ticket at the station on the day of travel.

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Virgin is best known for running trains from London Euston to Glasgow, but Virgin Train's website offers tickets for all train companies and doesn't charge booking or credit card fees. Sothe fare you see is what you pay.

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You could save yourself up to 80 per cent here by buying in advance compared to turning up at the station and hoping for the best.

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Sells tickets for all train operators. The company doesn't charge booking or credit card fees. Offers cheap tickets - up to 50 per cent off - on its own network, which is centred on Manchester. It's also more generous than most operators with bigger discounts for young people.

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The trainline is the biggest of the online ticket retailers with an easy to use website. Currently advertising savings of 43 per cent. Advance purchase tickets are often still available up to the day before travel.

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Top Tip: All five of these sites sell tickets for all train companies. Don't be put off by the idea of buying a ticket from Virgin Trains or First TransPennine Express, for a journey which doesn't include travel on their trains. Virgin can sell you a ticket to use on an East Coast train, for example.

We try to help point you in the right direction to find good information and useful websites where you can book your rail journey.

Whether you simply want to buy a cheap train ticket or treat yourself to a weekend break you can follow the links on our site to check out some of the best deals around.

Getting a good deal

Cheap train fares are made available by the train companies through their reservation management systems. The system can be used to increase the number of cheap seats at quiet travel times and decrease the number at the busiest times.

There can be many different levels of cheap train fares or discounted train fares available for long distance journeys and especially to London.

You can expect to pay more at peak times like Fridays and Sundays and the days leading up to the Easter and Christmas holidays when lots of people want to travel home and expect to pay less on an ordinary mid-week day when travel demand is usually lower.

Cheap advance purchase fares usually go on sale around 12 weeks in advance of the journey.

Plan Ahead

So to save most you need to get organised and decide on your travel dates well in advance. We would recommend you start searching for travel tickets as soon as you can, to see what fares are available.

If you can commit yourself well ahead to travelling on a particular date for your journey, you're most likely to find a good rail fare deal on your rail fare. If you find that you are unable to commit to a date, that might mean you see ticket prices rise as availability reduces.

Unlike the airline industry, where booking your seat at the last minute can often work out cheaper, the closer to departure you leave it before booking your rail tickets, the dearer they tend to be.

The city has four main rail stations - Deansgate, Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Victoria. Of these, Piccadilly is the busiest and is the main arrival point into the city centre. As well as serving Piccadilly, many trains start and finish their journeys at Manchester Airport station, conveniently located some 20 minutes outside the city centre.

Train companies in Manchester:

Virgin Trains travel to destinations all around the UK. Journeys with Virgin Trains are faster, more convenient and more comfortable than ever before. Three trains every hour leave Manchester en route for London; a journey that takes just over two hours.

First TransPennine Express operates direct train services into Manchester from across the north of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow and direct services into Manchester city centre from Manchester Airport.

CrossCountry Trains run services to Manchester from Birmingham, the South West, Bournemouth, Reading and Cardiff.

Northern Rail enables you to travel easily between Manchester's nearby cities and the surrounding countryside in the North of England. Rail services provide direct access to National Parks, including The Peak District and The Lake District.

If you buy a ticket we receive a small commission from the retailer for referring you to their site.

Best known for running trains from London Euston, but Virgin's website offers tickets for all train companies and doesn't charge booking or credit card fees. The fare you see is what you pay. Use Virgin online fare checker to see what your journey will cost. Book online and collect your tickets at the station.

thetrainline - the biggest of the online ticket retailers with an easy to use website. Currently advertising savings of 43 per cent. Advance purchase tickets sometimes still available up to the day before travel.

Show and Stay also offers rail-inclusive theatre breaks, which makes planning and enjoying a short break in London really simple. A well-designed search box on the site offers a choice of shows, the option to include discount rail travel - up to 40 per cent off - and an excellent selection of hotels.

Great deals and you'll be in Paris in no time at all.

With fast, direct high speed trains, the Eurostar service to France brings Europe to our doorstep. It really couldn’t be simpler. Catch one of the frequent Eurostar services at London St. Pancras, Ebbsfleet or Ashford International and you’ll be whisked across to Paris or Lille in just a couple of hours.

Search train times and fares here for a short break in France or the start of a longer trip to Europe.

Once in Paris you'll find trains leaving for all corners of Europe. The extensive high speed train network makes it possible to reach southern France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany from London within a day.

Overnight trains still provide the chance to travel while you sleep and are the ideal way of making the best use of travelling time if you're on a budget.

Leave Paris in the evening and wake up on the Cote D'Azur! Formidable!

Visit London with us, with over 30 years of experience booking a London hotel break online is simple with our great selection of over 340 London hotels right across the capital. Explore our range of hotels in London from ultimate luxury accommodation to comfortable but basic hotel rooms, ideal for a London weekend break away whatever your budget.

We love saving you money, so you won't find any sneaky credit card fees or pesky booking fees added on to our packages. In fact, if you find the same package for a lower price we'll match it with our best price guarantee.